A/N: My plan is to create another adventure whilst introducing something new too. I've already begun to, as you may see.
Chapter One: His Fiery Girl
At last, Harry held up his hands and the portraits fell respectfully silent, beaming and mopping their eyes and waiting eagerly for him to speak. He directed his words at Dumbledore, however he chose them with enormous care. Exhausted and bleary-eyed though he was, he must make one last effort, seeking one last piece of advice.
"The thing that was hidden in the Snitch." he began, "I dropped it in the Forest. I don't know exactly where, but I'm not going to go looking for it again. Do you agree?"
"My dear boy, I do." said Dumbledore, while his fellow pictures looked confused and curious. "A wise and courageous decision, but no less than I would have expected of you. Does anyone else know where it fell?"
"No one." said Harry, and Dumbledore nodded his satisfaction.
"I'm going to keep Ignotus's present, though." said Harry, and Dumbledore beamed.
"But of course, Harry, it is yours forever, until you pass it on!"
"And then there's this." Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron and Hermione looked at it with reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived state, Harry did not like to see.
"I don't want it." said Harry.
"What?" said Ron loudly. "Are you mental?"
"I know it's powerful, but I was happier with mine. So ..."
He rummaged in the pouch that hung around his neck, and pulled out the two halves of the holly wand still, just, connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if this didn't work, nothing would.
He laid the broken wand upon the Headmaster's desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand and said "Reparo."
As his wand resealed, red sparks flew out of its end. Harry knew that he had succeeded. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand, and felt a sudden warmth in his finger, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion.
"I'm putting the Elder Wand," he told Dumbledore, who was watching him enormous affection and admiration, "back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death, like Ignotus, its power will be broken wont it? The previous master will have never been defeated. That'll be the end of it."
Dumbledore nodded. they smiled at each other.
"Are you sure?" said Ron. There was the faintest trace of longing in his voice as he looked at the Elder wand.
"I think Harry's right." said Hermione quietly.
"That wands more trouble than it's worth." said Harry. "And quite honestly," he turned away from the painted portraits, thinking now only of the four-poster bed lying waiting for him in Gryffindor tower, and wondering in Kreacher might bring him a sandwich there, "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."
He stuffed his both wands inside his robes, where they sat comfortably against his invisibility cloak.
"Goodnight," he paused "Albus." Dumbledore beamed at him before he nodded and replied.
"Sleep well. All of you." Harry smiled and turned to leave. As he did, he caught site of the Pensieve sitting on the end of the desk. Removing his wand, he pulled the memories out of the stone bowl and placed them in the container that he left there. He put that too inside his robes. Ron and Hermione looked curious, but they didn't say anything. He walked towards the door and as he passed through it, he stopped, and retreated a couple of steps. In a small frame, the smallest by far in the room, was a man with a hooked nose a greasy black hair.
Unsure of what to say, Harry stammered out "Th...Thank you."
"I bear witness to a Potter using manners! Today was a good day to die!" Snape replied, taking them all slightly by surprise. Harry barely detected the faintest trace of a smile on his lips before his mouth hardened and he just nodded. Taking this as his queue to leave, Harry went through the door and down the staircase. Stepping over the stone gargoyle, Harry proceeded to Gryffindor dormitory with Ron and Hermione in-tow.
"You're just gonna sleep?" Ron asked.
"What wrong with that?" said Hermione stopping, and Ron stopped too. Harry however, did not. He continued walking, leaving behind a soon-to-be bickering Ron and Hermione, selecting the route that was least likely to take him past people. Right now, he just wanted to sleep. He passed suits of armour, piles of rubble, burn marks, ripped tapestries and a wall that had what he hoped was a death eater's blood over it.
He climbed up the last staircase, over another pile of rubble and approached the Fat Lady's portrait. Realising he didn't know the password, he asked "Can I come in?".
"Password?" The Fat Lady replied casually. Before Harry could reply, someone shouted his name from behind.
"Harry!" He turned to see Ginny slowly climbing the stairs towards him.
"Oh, hey." He replied. As she reached the top of the stairs she moved closer.
"How are you?" she said. She sounded concerned. He didn't answer, instead looking her right in the eyes. She smiled, perhaps bashfully. When the silence continued, she stepped closer again. Now, she was so close, he could feel her breath on his chin, as he looked down at her.
"It's victory" She said, stepping back. "Everyone who came to help, they're staying the night. Well, most are." The portrait swung open, and she made the first move to go through it.
As he entered, he noticed a fair few of people in the room. A few clapped and someone shouted out something that in his sleep-deprived state he couldn't make out. Ginny left him to go and talk to someone, and he wasn't sorry for it. He crossed the room, and climbed the spiral staircase. As he climbed a whole floor higher than the previous year, he reached the very top of Gryffindor tower and opened the door. The room had people in, all asleep.
He found an empty bed, the only one in the room, and got undressed. As he lay back he took a few deep breaths.
"Kreacher!" He said, and next to him materialised the aged, hooked nosed house-elf.
"Master calls me?" Kreacher replied. His voice was hoarse, probably from commanding the other house elves. Regalus' locket bounced on his chest, right next to a cut that looked like it may get infected.
"Kreacher, are you OK?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes! Kreacher is fine. Masked man who cut Kreacher is not very fine, master, but Kreacher is." he replied.
"I see. Well see to it that you get that cut seen to." Harry said.
"Of course master. Your wish is Kreacher's fate." He croaked. "Is master needing anything else?"
"Erm...well..." He had momentarily forgot what he had called him for. "Could I have a sandwich, Kreacher?"
"Of course, master. What would you like?"
"Erm...whatever. The normal thing." Harry replied, clumsily.
"Very well master." And with a pop, he disappeared; waking the bearded man in the next bed. Harry was generally curious whether the man had fought or just needed a place to stay.
"Mister Potter, sir!" He said, waking up fully.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Harry replied.
"It's no bother." He said, smiling widely, and rolled over to face the woman next to him whom Harry had not seen until then.
He reached into his robes, which were laying haphazardly next to his bed and removed the two wands and his cloak, along with the vial of memories, which he put in the bag around his neck. He analysed the wand, and there, just above the handle was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. He briefly envisioned a world, recreated by him, as he saw fit, before he dismissed the thought and placed the wand in the bag around his neck.
He next took the Invisibility Cloak, and examined it all over. After several minutes of searching, there, on the inside of the hood was the little symbol. It was barely visible, and certainly wouldn't have been noticed unless someone had actively searched for it. He folded it neatly and placed it under his pillow; he didn't have a trunk any more.
Last of all, he took the holly and phoenix wand and tucked it under his pillow. He lay back and gently massaged his temples with his fore-fingers. After only a few moments, Kreacher re-appeared. He placed the sandwich, cheese and ham, next to Harry and was about to disappear, when Harry stopped him.
"Kreacher, what state is Grimmauld Place in?" For a moment, Kreacher look almost shameful, before the image disappeared and he replied, matter-of-factly.
"It requires cleaning, master. Would master like Kreacher to clean his home?"
"Just so I can live there." He replied. After all, school was over and he needed somewhere to stay.
"Very well." Kreacher replied, before disappearing, with a pop, for the last time that evening. After only a few seconds, Harry grabbed his wand from under his pillow and in pointing it at the curtains of the dormitory and then at the curtains around his bed, they snapped shut, leaving him to shut his eyes and fall blissfully to sleep.
·ºOo.oº·
By the time Harry began to stir from his sleep; which was filled with his friends and family, he had slept for nearly a day. A quick tempus spell informed him it was 04:51. He opened the curtains around his bed to see that it was still dark, with a little fiery light peering over mountains beyond the forbidden forest.
After returning from a quick shower that relieved his muscles of the tense feeling he'd been hosting, he dressed; in the sky-blue casual robes that were left at the foot of his bed. The robes reminded him Dumbledore somehow. Reaching under his pillow, he removed the invisibility cloak and placed it in the inside of his robes. He then removed the holly and phoenix wand, his wand, and placed that in his pocket and set out with the intention of putting the Elder Wand back in Dumbledore's tomb.
He entered the common room to find it nearly empty, the cots remained around the walls, having not been cleared up yet, but there were only a few who still remained. He slipped through the portrait hole as quietly as possible only to be startled when he came face to face with Hermione.
"Hi. You feeling better?" She asked him.
"Much." Harry replied. "What're you doing up so early?"
"I could ask you the same thing!" She teased. "Are you putting the wand back?"
"Yes." He said simply, stepping past her.
"Ooh, I'll come." Harry didn't mind, so he began to descend the many floors of Hogwarts. He had to walk past a few piles of rubbish and a lot of the windows were still broken, but that allowed the cool summer air into the castle. "Don't you want to ask Ron along?"
"They just left. I was saying goodbye." Hemione informed him.
"Oh. Why so early?"
"Well they have to travel to Cornwall to get a coffin." Harry didn't need to be reminded of the Weasley's loss. "They have to travel non-magically, too. Kingsley's put heavy restrictions on the Floo and on Portkeys. He's trying to stop any remaining supporters of Voldemort from escaping."
"Can't they just apparate?" He asked, hopping over a large break in a set of stairs. He turned and offered his arms out to catch Hermione as she did the same.
"Ginny hasn't learnt yet and you need to know your destination. If you don't you risk getting splinched." She informed him, matter-of-factly.
They continued walking for a short time until they reached the entrance hall. It was covered in burn-marks, cracked stone and dust. The Slytherin emeralds that had spilled everywhere were now in a pile in a corner with something that resembled an age-line drawn around it. Noticing where he was looking Hermione spoke.
"Mundungus tried to steal some of them." Her face showed that she clearly disapproved. But, despite being reminded that Mundungus had stole a lot of Sirius' things last year, Harry found it amusing.
"What did they do with Voldemort's body?" Harry asked.
"Ha! It's still in an anti-chamber! The goblins provided some unbreakable tether and had him tied to a wall. He's there for anyone who needs proof. Oh, he was searched, and they found a strange green gem, but the ministry confiscated it before anyone could identify it." This intrigued Harry.
"Anyone being you?" Harry asked.
"Well, yes, I was there." She replied, with a pout.
Harry pushed open the doors of the Entrance Hall to see the green remarkably clear. There were no longer bodies strewn here and there, rags that had been torn from peoples clothing or blood splatters from the victims of potentially-deadly curses.
"I've been thinking, what if someone breaks into the Tomb and takes the wand again? I mean, I announced to everyone that I had an unbeatable wand. Surely someone will go looking for it." Harry said, beginning his walk to the tomb.
"I thought about that as well. I think we should put it back and ward the Tomb. So we'll know if anyone tries to open it." Hermione responded.
"Also, what if Voldemort used a dark curse to break the tomb open? Reparo won't work to reseal it." Harry asked next.
"Hmm, I hadn't thought of that." And Harry was shocked to hear Hermione say that.
Once they got to the tomb, Harry's nerves kicked in. He didn't really want to see the semi-decomposed body of his mentor.
He stepped forward and peered inside, to find that surprisingly, Dumbledore's body was undamaged and whole, magically protected. He let out a sigh, and placed the wand from around his neck between Dumbledore's hands, which rest on his chest. He stepped back and Hermione spoke.
"Reparo!" The top half of the tomb wobbled on the spot and shifted towards the other half slightly, but the tomb remained broken.
"It's not going to work!" Harry said. He began to think but Hermione interrupted him.
"Relax, ye of little faith!" She replied, teasingly. "Dark magic would have rejected it and nothing would have happened. It just means we need a bit more power. Try it at the same time as me. One...two..."
"Reparo!" They both cried. The two pieces moved further together and sealed, but a noticeable crack remained.
"Reparo!" They said again and the tomb sealed itself completely. However, when Harry looked close, there was a barely-noticeable white line that lay over the white marble where the crack had been. Hermione began walking in odd patterns around the tomb; chanting as she did so.
Harry stood, waiting for Hermione to finish. He gazed at sky where the sun was about to show itself.
"Done!" Hermione said, and looked up at Harry.
As the sun hit the ground at Harry's feet, some kind of music played in the air. His heart felt light and he felt courageous, as if he was being looked after by some powerful angel. After a few moments he realised that that he had heard the song before. It was both sad and happy, and it touched Harry's very soul.
He looked around for the source of the phoenix song, looking at Dumbledore's now repaired tomb. When he saw nothing he did a full rotation and looked in every direction. He looked at Hermione and she shrugged; clearly as confused as Harry was.
"Where's it..." Hermione began before she was cut off by a flash and a bang. After his ears had stopped ringing, Harry looked down, to see a dark grey lump of dust at his feet.
As he crouched closer he noticed the dirty lump seemed to be squirming a little and after a few seconds, a red-feathered head, fashioned with wide black eyes and a golden beak emerged from a lump to inform Harry that it was …
"A phoenix." stated Hermione. "Wow! Harry, you've been chosen!"
"I've been what … ?" he replied, bemused.
"Chosen. phoenix's choose masters of their own that they deem worthy. You can't domesticate them naturally, otherwise every pure-blood family would own one. They appear at the dawn after the master they choose performs a great deed." She said matter-of-factly.
"When do you find the time to learn these things?" She blushed, but replied.
"When your wand reacted with Voldemort's in the graveyard the way it did, I researched them. Oh Harry, this is amazing! It looks just like Fawkes!" Harry began to clear away the dust around the phoenix and picked it up.
"It's not. Fawkes was more red then gold. This phoenix's gold feathers extend further. What do I do with it?" He said.
"Well, she's yours! Killing Voldemort must have been a great deed. I suggest naming her." She looked very exited by the appearance of the bird.
"How do you know it's a she?" Harry asked.
"The crest on its head." She said simply.
"What should I name her, then?" Harry asked, quite confused by the whole situation. Holding the bird up to his face, the black eyes stared back at him with a twinkle.
"It's really up to you. How about Ron? For his fiery temper!" She joked, and Harry laughed. Then from nowhere, it came to him.
"Serafina. Fiery one." He said. "I think it's Italian, though I don't know how I know that."
"I like it!" Hermione smiled.
"I want to go and see Dumbledore. To ask him about her. Are you coming with me? I have to tell him I've put the wand back any way."
"Erm..." She looked quite tired. "I suppose so."
Their journey up to the Headmaster's office took a long time. Especially with Hermione constantly stopping to coo Serafina. By the time they reached the Gargoyle, who still lay to the side, Serafina had noticeably grown. Not a large amount but she was certainly bigger. She was also clean.
"Can I go up?" Harry said, once again asking the gargoyle.
"Of course." He said and Harry and Hermione both hopped past him and onto the rotating staircase. Harry knocked on the door, out of politeness for anyone who may be in there, but when no reply came, he pushed open the door.
As he entered the room, a few of the portraits clapped, but most took Dumbledore's stance on things and simple beamed at him.
"Harry my boy! Hermione! Back again? And with a phoenix, none-the-less." It appeared Dumbledore's omnisciency remained, even in death.
"How did you know I had a phoenix?" Harry asked, looking into his pocket to where Dumbledore shouldn't have been able to see Serafina.
"They have a distinct scent." He replied.
"But you're a painting, how can you smell?" Harry said, incredibly confused.
"I was alive once, you remember?" He said, which aided only in confusing Harry more.
"But that doesn't...never mind." Harry said, realising Dumbledore wasn't going to let up. "I've put the wand back and Hermione warded your tomb against invaders."
"Excellent. I can count on no more interruptions then." He said, joyfully. "I must say, you've continued to prove yourself. The proof is with your new familiar."
"But I had loads of help defeating Voldemort, why should I get the phoenix?"
"You are mistaken. If my guess is correct, and generally speaking they are rather accurate, the phoenix was not for defeating Voldemort."
"Then, what was it for?" Harry asked, now curious.
"It is likely that it was a, let's say reward, for being master of the Elder Wand, a powerful object from which could come many evils, and choosing not to use it, to simply, put it out of harms reach." Dumbledore informed him.
"But if a phoenix is available for those who do what I did, then why hasn't it happened before. Why is the Elder Wand still around?"
"Because if people knew of a possible reward, it wouldn't be a selfless act. Also, do not think of the phoenix as the reward for putting the Elder Wand back. Think of it as a reward for great deed. I found Fawkes after my defeat of Gellert. A man I once knew received one for creating a staff that allowed him to manipulate water itself!"
"I see." Harry said, thinking things over.
"May I ask what you've named her?" Again it struck Harry as strange that Dumbledore knew it was female when he hadn't yet shown him. Surely there wasn't the certain smell to female phoenix's.
"Serafina" Harry said.
"Oh, how apt." Dumbledore said, beaming at him as he took Serafina out of his pocket. With a small flash of fire, she disappeared an reappeared above Harry, beating her great wings.
A/N: Chapter one. I hoped you liked it. Please let me know what you think by posting a review. Give me some ideas as to what I should do with Ginny, chapter 3 is written, and I'll post it soon, but before I can go much further, I need to know what to do with Ginny!
